I was the one who started the thread. I decided against the Sirena ultimately. I went ahead and purchased a Rancilio Silvia instead ... I wasn't sure what the Sirena quality was going to be like, and I found a great deal on a Silvia/Rocky doserless combo.

I purchased the Sirena two weeks ago and it is going back as soon as I find a replacement.

Things I hate about the Sirena

Water reservoir is too small and inconveniently located.

Very sloppy cover over the water reservoir that does not fit well.

Designers clearly chose form over function in many areas. I donít think that would be the prevailing philosophy at BMW where this thing was supposedly designed.

Portafilter has a rubber gasket/stopper with a plastic insert to create back pressure crema.

Too slow to initial heat, especially considering it has such a small boiler (I was told it had a separate heating plate for the steam/hot water, which I doubted at the time but I was told this nonetheless).

Interminably long wait between cycles.

Huge temperature swings during cycles (small boiler with no pre-heater).

Lack of pressure release and drainage in the portafilter leaves a soupy, drippy and potentially explosive mess.

Tepid espresso!

Ridiculous frothing-aid nozzle which creates a coarse froth at best

Steam wand shoots lots of water into the milk and it drips milk after I remove the pitcher.

Extremely flimsy drip tray grill.

Plastic drip tray has a clumsy design which is difficult to set correctly with cheap plastic holding posts that move around when positioning the tray making it even more difficult.

Drip tray is too small.

There is no accommodation for continuous flow of water through the portafilter except by holding one of the buttons which will reprogram it to give that amount in the future.

Temperature gauge has marks but no numbers. I canít tell what it actually means in centigrade or Fahrenheit.

After it comes to temperature in steam mode it requires near immediate action or it reverts back to espresso mode. If it was faster to come to temperature I might be willing to stand there and wait but I have many things going on, then if I donít hit that thirty second window, I have to start over.

Things I like about the Sirena

It looks nice and the smooth edges make it relatively easy to clean.

The steam wand has great range of movement.

The programming could not be easier.

The chrome-plated brass portafilter feels very substantial.

In short....It should be back to the drawing board on this one. At least wait for Sirena 2.0

Just purchased it yesterday at the employees discount.I am still trying it out (trying to find the right grind etc).So far what I can say is that the machine makes wonderful foam. Someone posted that hot water does come out of the wand sometimes prior to steaming the milk. I have experienced the same thing, but not enough to water down the milk.I find the machine comes up to temp relatively quick. I have to agree with the fact that the cover on the water reservoir is very flimsy.Will keep you posted...

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